Collective bargaining and organized nurses: correlation of support and participation

The objective of this article was to list identified personal characteristics which are intrinsic to the respondents, irrespective of their profession or employment, and which influence their viewpoints and participation in collective bargaining. Little information is reported in the nursing literature which points out the similarities of nurses to other subsets of society. The belief systems of various sub-group affiliations can have greater influence on one's opinions than one's socialization to professional values or exposure to particular environments. The current investigation was of an explorative nature. Moreover, as with many surveys, the applicability of findings is limited to the respondent population. No significant correlations were identified for nurses who are financially dependent on the income from their position, union membership of a family member, hospital size, shift worked or full-time/part-time employment status. The identified correlates of participation in collective bargaining as seniority in bargaining units and employment, hierarchical employment position and involvement in the organizing campaign were consistent with findings regarding blue collar unionists. Perception and militance correlates of age, seniority in the profession and the bargaining unit, race, religion, sex, employment position, membership in the professional association prior to collective bargaining, involvement in the initial organizing campaign and geographic location are also supportive of previous findings. The major finding of this investigation was that a tendency toward negative perceptions was associated with a proclivity toward militance. This was particularly true for the professional model of collective bargaining.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)